5. Property and Equipment

Depreciation and amortization expense consisted of the following:

	For the Three Months				For the Nine Months
	Ended September 30,				Ended September 30,
	2013		2012		2013		2012
	(In thousands)
Equipment leased to customers	$	188,524	$	165,959	$	538,457	$	481,876
Satellites	27,171		32,087		81,512		96,260
Buildings, furniture, fixtures, equipment and other	14,054		14,885		43,441		43,752
148 degree orbital location (1)	—		—		—		67,776
Total depreciation and amortization	$	229,749	$	212,931	$	663,410	$	689,664

(1) During the second quarter 2012, we recorded $68 million of “Depreciation and amortization” expense related to the termination of the license by the FCC for use the 148 degree orbital location.

Cost of sales and operating expense categories included in our accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) do not include depreciation expense related to satellites or equipment leased to customers.

DBS Satellites. We currently utilize 15 satellites in geostationary orbit approximately 22,300 miles above the equator, six of which we own and depreciate over the useful life of each satellite. We currently utilize capacity on seven satellites from EchoStar, which are accounted for as operating leases. See Note 10 for further discussion of our satellite leases with EchoStar. We also lease two satellites from third parties, which are accounted for as capital leases and are depreciated over the shorter of the economic life of the satellite or the term of the satellite agreement.

EchoStar XVIII Launch Service. Pursuant to the Professional Services Agreement DISH Network entered into with EchoStar in 2010, DISH Network has the right, but not the obligation, to engage EchoStar to manage the process of procuring new satellite capacity for it, which includes the procurement of satellite launch services. During November 2012, EchoStar entered into an agreement with ArianeSpace S.A. (“Ariane”) for certain launch services, pursuant to which DISH Network was designated in September 2013 by EchoStar to receive certain launch services from Ariane. During October 2013, DISH Network entered into an agreement directly with Ariane for these launch services. In total, DISH Network expects to pay EchoStar and Ariane approximately $120 million for these launch services. DISH Network plans to use these launch services for EchoStar XVIII, a DBS satellite with spot beam technology designed, among other things, for HD programming. EchoStar XVIII is expected to be launched during 2015.

Satellite Anomalies. Operation of our DISH branded pay-TV service requires that we have adequate DBS satellite transmission capacity for the programming we offer. Moreover, current competitive conditions require that we continue to expand our offering of new programming. While we generally have had in-orbit DBS satellite capacity sufficient to transmit our existing channels and some backup capacity to recover the transmission of certain critical programming, our backup capacity is limited.

In the event of a failure or loss of any of our satellites, we may need to acquire or lease additional satellite capacity or relocate one of our other satellites and use it as a replacement for the failed or lost satellite. Such a failure could result in a prolonged loss of critical programming or a significant delay in our plans to expand programming as necessary to remain competitive and thus may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Prior to 2013, certain of our owned and leased satellites have experienced anomalies, some of which have had a significant adverse impact on their remaining useful life and/or commercial operation. There can be no assurance that future anomalies will not further impact the remaining useful life and/or commercial operation of any of the satellites in our fleet. See “Long-Lived DBS Satellite Assets” below for further discussion of evaluation of impairment of our DISH branded pay-TV DBS satellite fleet. There can be no assurance that we can recover critical transmission capacity in the event one or more of our in-orbit satellites were to fail. We generally do not carry commercial insurance for any of the in-orbit satellites that we use, other than certain satellites leased from third parties, and therefore, we will bear the risk associated with any uninsured in-orbit satellite failures. Recent developments with respect to certain of our satellites are discussed below.

Leased Satellites

EchoStar XII. Prior to 2010, EchoStar XII experienced anomalies resulting in the loss of electrical power available from its solar arrays, which reduced the number of transponders that could be operated. In September 2012, November 2012, and January 2013, EchoStar XII experienced additional solar array anomalies, which further reduced the electrical power available. During the third quarter 2013, EchoStar informed us that EchoStar XII will likely experience further loss of available electrical power that will impact its operational capability, and EchoStar reduced the remaining estimated useful life of the satellite to 18 months. Pursuant to our satellite lease agreement with EchoStar, we are entitled to a reduction in our monthly recurring lease payments in the event of a partial loss of satellite capacity or complete failure of the satellite. Since the number of useable transponders on EchoStar XII depends on, among other things, whether EchoStar XII is operated in CONUS, spot beam, or hybrid CONUS/spot beam mode, we are unable to determine at this time the actual number of transponders that will be available at any given time or how many transponders can be used during the remaining estimated life of the satellite. This satellite is currently not in service and serves as an in-orbit spare.

Long-Lived DBS Satellite Assets. We evaluate our DISH branded pay-TV DBS satellite fleet for impairment as one asset group and test for recoverability whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that its carrying amount may not be recoverable. While certain of the anomalies discussed above, and previously disclosed, may be considered to represent a significant adverse change in the physical condition of an individual satellite, based on the redundancy designed within each satellite and considering the asset grouping, these anomalies are not considered to be significant events that would require evaluation for impairment recognition. Unless and until a specific satellite is abandoned or otherwise determined to have no service potential, the net carrying amount related to the satellite would not be written off.